Speeding Drunk British Man Dies In Car Crash

[Rimmer]

Speeding Drunk British Man Dies In Car Crash

PATTAYA:--A 64-year-old British man died of his injuries after his car hit a tree near the entrance of soi Wat Tuan Tong. He was unconscious but still breathing after the crash, but later died at the hospital. A witness said the British man had been speeding in the unlit road when he drove into the tree.

PATTAYA – December 6, 2012 [PDN]: At 12:39 a.m., a report of a car hitting a tree and seriously injuring the driver was received by Pol. Maj. Capt. Yuthapol Boonkerd, detective officer of the shift, Banglamung police station, sub branch Nongprue. He rushed to the crime scene with rescuers from Sawang Boriboon foundation Pattaya.

The incident occurred at the entrance of soi Wat Tuan Tong, Khob Ang Mabprachan Rd. moo 5, Pong, Banglamung, Chonburi.

At the scene, police saw a crowd of residents gathered around the damaged car, a bronze Toyota Fortuner that had crashed into a big tree. The victim was in the driver’s seat, unconscious but still breathing. He was later identified as Mr. Raymond Christopher Donnell, 64 years old, nationality British.

The rescuers performed emergency first aid and sent the British man to Bangkok Pattaya hospital. However, he died later of his injuries. The doctor listed the cause of his death as heart failure.

Full story:http://www.pattayadailynews.com/en/2012/12/06/speeding-drunk-british-man-dies-in-car-crash/

--PATTAYA DAILY NEWS 2012-12-06

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[BookMan]

At least he didn't kill or injure anyone else.

[OMGImInPattaya]

Agree, from the hospital report, sounds like he may have had a heart attack...of course, he could have been drunk and also had a heart attack. Either way, RIP and good to see no other human collateral damage.

[Woody1]

Is it also possible the condition of the road played a part in the accident?

Of all the roads in and around Pattaya, this particular road is probably in the worst condition of all of them at present. There are huge potholes strewn all over it, I personally know of 3 incidents of punctures / blow outs due to cars hitting potholes in the last 10 days or so. In addition the road is also under repair in certain sections at present, these sections are basically just a gravel surface and very slippery when driving, I also personally know someone who has had a bike accident there in the last week, arguably due to the surface condition. Of course there are no warning signs regarding any of the above.

RIP Raymond

[ezzra]

Drink and drive don't mix, and as the Aussies say: "if you drink and drive (fast)

you're a bloody idiot" (no disrespect intended)

[marquis22]

Is it also possible the condition of the road played a part in the accident?

Of all the roads in and around Pattaya, this particular road is probably in the worst condition of all of them at present. There are huge potholes strewn all over it, I personally know of 3 incidents of punctures / blow outs due to cars hitting potholes in the last 10 days or so. In addition the road is also under repair in certain sections at present, these sections are basically just a gravel surface and very slippery when driving, I also personally know someone who has had a bike accident there in the last week, arguably due to the surface condition. Of course there are no warning signs regarding any of the above.

RIP Raymond

Normally a driver slows down if the road conditions do not favor speeding....

[Rimmer]

Pattaya: British Expat dies in single vehicle crash near Marprachan Lake

PATTAYA:--Despite the combined efforts of the Local Police from the Nong Prue Police station and those of the emergency services, 64 Year old Mr.Raymond Christopher Donnell was unable to be revived after crashing his Toyota Fortuna into a tree on the road adjacent to the lake, near the village of Pong, East of Pattaya.

The notorously rough road which is currently being widened and resurfaced may have contributed to his crash, however Police reports indicate that they suspect him to have drunk a considerable amount of alcohol prior to driving his vehicle, just after midnight.

(more photographs below)

Emergency services who freed him from the wreckage sent him to Bangkok Hospital Pattaya where, according to reporters, he later died from his injuries combined with heart failure. At the scene he was resuscitated by Medics who made every attempt to save his life

Witnesses say that the vehicle was travelling at high speed when it crashed into a tree on the roadside. Several locals attempted to free him from the wreckage and called the authorities to the unlit road when they realised that his injuries were severe.

The lakeside is in remote area and is currently being revamped by the city and Province to provide a better wider surface. Meanwhile , during the reconstruction, significant drops on either side of the road are only marked with tape as a warning to drivers and that, combined with the very poor road surface means that any driver needs to be fully awake and aware

Full story:http://www.pattaya103.com/raymond-donnell-crash-pattaya-marprachan-killed/

--Pattaya 103 FM 2012-12-06

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[Basil B]

Agreed the road conditions are not first class, but if there was a issue with the road conditions the driver should take appropriate actions which in the first instance would be to moderate their speed to suite the road conditions.

[BlackPuddingBertha]

If it turns out that he had actually been drinking heavily then I for one would have zero sympathy for him.

There is no possible excuse for anyone to drive whilst incapacitated here as public transport is widely available 24/7 and is extremely cheap.

[julemanden]

Agree, from the hospital report, sounds like he may have had a heart attack...of course, he could have been drunk and also had a heart attack. Either way, RIP and good to see no other human collateral damage.

Maybe he had a heart attack and then crashed, it sounds like that's exactly what happens in me ears, but who knows... RIP.

[Briggsy]

Maybe he had a drink, then a heart attack whilst driving and then crashed. Your chances of a heart attack increase dramatically with alcohol in your blood stream.

http://healthland.time.com/2011/02/24/major-triggers-of-heart-attack-alcohol-coffee-%E2%80%94-and-sitting-in-traffic/

[gaucho]

rip .good no one else hurt

[candid]

If it turns out that he had actually been drinking heavily then I for one would have zero sympathy for him.

There is no possible excuse for anyone to drive whilst incapacitated here as public transport is widely available 24/7 and is extremely cheap.

Public transport on that road at that time of night? About 14 or 15 kms from Pattaya. You ever been up there at night? Try and see if you can get a motorbike taxi driver to take you out there at midnight, then come back and post your rubbish

[12DrinkMore]

Maybe he had a drink, then a heart attack whilst driving and then crashed. Your chances of a heart attack increase dramatically with alcohol in your blood stream.

http://healthland.ti...ing-in-traffic/

And presumably smashing into a tree at high speed would also increase the chances considerably....

So we are left with the unanswerable puzzle, did he have a heart attack before or after the crash?

I believe drink and high speed have already been proven.

[12DrinkMore]

If it turns out that he had actually been drinking heavily then I for one would have zero sympathy for him.

There is no possible excuse for anyone to drive whilst incapacitated here as public transport is widely available 24/7 and is extremely cheap.

Public transport on that road at that time of night? About 14 or 15 kms from Pattaya. You ever been up there at night? Try and see if you can get a motorbike taxi driver to take you out there at midnight, then come back and post your rubbish

So in your opinion lack of public transport is a totally justified reason to get drunk and drive? Presumably you wouldn't post such rubbish if he had collided with you?

[bkk_mike]

It says a witness smelled alcohol.

Nowhere in the body of the article does it say that there are witnesses that he was drinking beforehand, or that they tested his blood and found a high level of alcohol.

From what's in the actual article he could have been on his way back from Tesco (the accident looks bad enough that it could have broken a bottle).

[Spalpeen]

It's also possible that he developed chest pains while at home and was speeding in order to get to a hospital or a friends house.

[vijer]

One has to wonder if he was wearing a seat belt. A Fortuner would have airbags and a seat belt, one would have to be traveling extremely fast to die if properly restrained.

[BookMan]

If it turns out that he had actually been drinking heavily then I for one would have zero sympathy for him.

There is no possible excuse for anyone to drive whilst incapacitated here as public transport is widely available 24/7 and is extremely cheap.

Public transport on that road at that time of night? About 14 or 15 kms from Pattaya. You ever been up there at night? Try and see if you can get a motorbike taxi driver to take you out there at midnight, then come back and post your rubbish

So in your opinion lack of public transport is a totally justified reason to get drunk and drive? Presumably you wouldn't post such rubbish if he had collided with you?

You could also say that if your home is too far away to be able to get transport back, then either:

a) Do not drink alcohol if u are driving

'b.) Go closer to home where you can get transport

'c) Do not go out.

[Potosi]

If it turns out that he had actually been drinking heavily then I for one would have zero sympathy for him.

There is no possible excuse for anyone to drive whilst incapacitated here as public transport is widely available 24/7 and is extremely cheap.

Public transport on that road at that time of night? About 14 or 15 kms from Pattaya. You ever been up there at night? Try and see if you can get a motorbike taxi driver to take you out there at midnight, then come back and post your rubbish

So in your opinion lack of public transport is a totally justified reason to get drunk and drive? Presumably you wouldn't post such rubbish if he had collided with you?

Drivers of public transportation are drunken too. Plus 10,000 drunken drivers of private cars, buses, trucks each night in Pattaya. That's the standard. I read the BIB sometimes checks car drivers for alcohol on some obscure road in Bangkok, have never seen it in Pattaya. There are no penalties unless one causes an accident, and some money dodges punishment even in this case. Rules not enforced are ignored. I don't know if you are one of them who stresses that we have to respect the customs of our hosts, what about these?

[jbrain]

If it turns out that he had actually been drinking heavily then I for one would have zero sympathy for him.

There is no possible excuse for anyone to drive whilst incapacitated here as public transport is widely available 24/7 and is extremely cheap.

Public transport on that road at that time of night? About 14 or 15 kms from Pattaya. You ever been up there at night? Try and see if you can get a motorbike taxi driver to take you out there at midnight, then come back and post your rubbish

So in your opinion lack of public transport is a totally justified reason to get drunk and drive? Presumably you wouldn't post such rubbish if he had collided with you?

Drivers of public transportation are drunken too. Plus 10,000 drunken drivers of private cars, buses, trucks each night in Pattaya. That's the standard. I read the BIB sometimes checks car drivers for alcohol on some obscure road in Bangkok, have never seen it in Pattaya. There are no penalties unless one causes an accident, and some money dodges punishment even in this case. Rules not enforced are ignored. I don't know if you are one of them who stresses that we have to respect the customs of our hosts, what about these?

Plus 10,000 drunken drivers of private cars, buses, trucks each night in Pattaya.

Sounds like I was the only sober one on the road tonight.Would love to see a link to those statistics of yours.

[BlackPuddingBertha]

Public transport on that road at that time of night? About 14 or 15 kms from Pattaya. You ever been up there at night? Try and see if you can get a motorbike taxi driver to take you out there at midnight, then come back and post your rubbish

Only an idiot would get on a motorbike taxi. Probably the same sort of idiot who would drive when drunk. A bahtbus will go there. It wont cost 10B but it will cost many times less than a similar trip in Europe.

And if a bahtbus wont go there, why not consider living a bit nearer civilisation or indeed giving up drinking? Or drinking within walking distance of your home?

[Exsexyman]

Is it also possible the condition of the road played a part in the accident?

is it possible you are a Thai national - pushing away whatever responsibility threatens to come your way

Your post makes no sense.

[candid]

If it turns out that he had actually been drinking heavily then I for one would have zero sympathy for him.

There is no possible excuse for anyone to drive whilst incapacitated here as public transport is widely available 24/7 and is extremely cheap.

Public transport on that road at that time of night? About 14 or 15 kms from Pattaya. You ever been up there at night? Try and see if you can get a motorbike taxi driver to take you out there at midnight, then come back and post your rubbish

So in your opinion lack of public transport is a totally justified reason to get drunk and drive? Presumably you wouldn't post such rubbish if he had collided with you?

Are you for real? You trying to tell me what MY opinion is? I never once said that drink driving was justified. I merely wrote that there is almost NO public transport in that area. You also state that hig speed and drink are already proven. On the strength of what evidence? One witness says high speed so that is gospel? Didn't see any alcohol story from the doctor at the hospital either

[OMGImInPattaya]

If it turns out that he had actually been drinking heavily then I for one would have zero sympathy for him.

There is no possible excuse for anyone to drive whilst incapacitated here as public transport is widely available 24/7 and is extremely cheap.

Public transport on that road at that time of night? About 14 or 15 kms from Pattaya. You ever been up there at night? Try and see if you can get a motorbike taxi driver to take you out there at midnight, then come back and post your rubbish

So in your opinion lack of public transport is a totally justified reason to get drunk and drive? Presumably you wouldn't post such rubbish if he had collided with you?

You could also say that if your home is too far away to be able to get transport back, then either:

a) Do not drink alcohol if u are driving

'b.) Go closer to home where you can get transport

'c) Do not go out.

d) Short time hotels all around town for a couple hundred baht for a few hours to 500-600 all night to sleep it off.

[lonewolf99]

"The very poor road surface means any driver needs to be fully awake and aware."

If only every bloody driver in Thailand was like this.....the normal driving standards of both Thais and ex-pats is appalling.

Global deaths on roads are never as a total for any country but per 100,000 - why the hell do they not do a running total of road deaths and have it ticking over at the bottom of the local News channel screens.....instead of the Gold price and S&P forecast....

It is about 10 people a day in the U.K. I dread to think what it is in Thailand that has a similar population total i.e 60 odd million ?

[Potosi]

Should be 76 fatalities per day on average, calculated with a population of 65 million. http://www.worldlifeexpectancy.com/cause-of-death/road-traffic-accidents/by-country/

[BlackPuddingBertha]

I merely wrote that there is almost NO public transport in that area.

If a taxi will come and take people to BKK at 1am for 1000B then I'm sure that he would also come to Pong and cart people around there, for a lesser fee.

Besides which, one can suppose that someone out for the evening would in fact be looking for transport home from a busy part of town, not starting in the backwater in which he lives.

[candid]

I merely wrote that there is almost NO public transport in that area.

If a taxi will come and take people to BKK at 1am for 1000B then I'm sure that he would also come to Pong and cart people around there, for a lesser fee.

Besides which, one can suppose that someone out for the evening would in fact be looking for transport home from a busy part of town, not starting in the backwater in which he lives.

First of all, you don't know that he came from a busy part of town. The area in which the accident happened is pretty sparsely populated, with villages dotted around but not in any high density fashion. So how do you know he wasn't popping out to the local 7/11 which is a few hundred yards further on?

Any reference to what you can or cannot do in Bangkok at 1 am is completely conjecture and superfluous to this conversation.

YOu starting to sound like a thorn in the flesh, ie a little prick

[BlackPuddingBertha]

First of all, you don't know that he came from a busy part of town. The area in which the accident happened is pretty sparsely populated, with villages dotted around but not in any high density fashion. So how do you know he wasn't popping out to the local 7/11 which is a few hundred yards further on?

Any reference to what you can or cannot do in Bangkok at 1 am is completely conjecture and superfluous to this conversation.

BKK means Suvarnabhumi Airport, not Bangkok. Most people with more than half a brain would realise this. You, apparently, do not qualify.

How many signs are there around Pattaya advertising taxi services to BKK for 800B? A thousand? Five thousand? More?

If asked they will also drive out to Pong to take a drunken farang from the nearby 7/11 back to his house, if he cant stagger that far. Indeed any bahtbus will do it also.

Of course all this requires that the farang in question isnt just a cheap piss-artist who prefers to put his own life and the lives of others in mortal danger, rather than spend a couple of hundred Baht. And this is the crux of the problem.

There can be no possible excuse for driving whilst incapacitated.